Pass responsibility for COVID vaccine purchases to citizens, Bongbong Marcos admin urged

(REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo)

MANILA, Philippines —As the country shifts out of the pandemic, it should be citizens’ responsibility to get the COVID-19 vaccines, outgoing presidential adviser for entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said Thursday.

Concepcion made the remark as he noted some possible recommendations for President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. who will officially assume his post this afternoon.

“Hopefully we send him a recommendation on how we can transition gradually from this pandemic to endemic and there are key points that have to be done,” Concepcion said in an interview on ABS-CBN News Channel.

Concepcion said that the public has to be allowed to procure vaccines.

“We have to get vaccine manufacturers to apply for a certificate of product registration. Why is that important? Because I believe that taking care of our health is not just the role of the government,” Concepcion said.

“The government has bought vaccines for our people. But as you can see, if all of a sudden our citizens stop taking vaccines, then these just go to waste. So we should pass on the responsibility of procuring vaccines to our citizens,” he added.

Meanwhile, Concepcion said that the government can still set aside some funds for vaccine procurement for those who cannot afford them.

“For those who cannot afford these vaccines, I would still recommend that the government set aside some funds to purchase these vaccines but the rest, I believe it should be our citizens,” Concepcion said.

gsg/abc